Equipment for continuous casting operation

ABSTRACT

Equipment for a continuous casting operation includes a closed chamber having first and second connecting holes, a furnace unit disposed in the chamber, a horizontal casting apparatus connected to the first connecting hole and including at least one first die having a first passage connected to the melting furnace, a first drawing unit disposed downstream of the horizontal casting apparatus, an upcast casting apparatus disposed above the chamber and connected to the second connecting hole, and a second drawing unit disposed downstream of the upcast casting apparatus. The upcast casting apparatus includes at least one second die having a second passage connected to the melting furnace. With the equipment, either horizontal casting or upcasting may be performed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a continuous casting operation, moreparticularly to equipment for a continuous casting operation.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional horizontal continuous castingapparatus 10 for smelting, but not limited to, copper. The apparatus 10includes a movable melting furnace 11, a holding furnace 12, a die 13, acooler 14, and a drawing unit 15. The melting furnace 11 receives andmelts solid copper into molten copper. The holding furnace 12 receivesthe molten copper poured out from the melting furnace 11, and iscontinuously heated so as to maintain the molten copper at a suitabletemperature. The holding furnace 12 has a receiving hole 121 formed in asidewall thereof in communication with an interior of the holdingfurnace 12. A layer of graphite or carbon flakes covers a liquid surfaceof the molten metal in the corresponding furnace 11, 12 so as tominimize contact of the molten metal with the atmospheric air whichcould result in oxidation of the molten metal. The lining of each of themelting furnace 11 and the holding furnace 12 is made of oxidizedaluminum bricks. The die 13 is disposed within the receiving hole 121,and is formed with a horizontal passage 131 connected to the interior ofthe holding furnace 12. The molten metal in the holding furnace 12passes through the passage 131 to thereby form a casting. The cooler 14is provided to cool the casting. The drawing unit 15 includes tworollers 151 that rotate in opposite directions to draw continuously andhorizontally the casting.

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional upcast continuous casting apparatus20, which includes a chamber 21, a melting furnace 22 disposed withinthe chamber 21 to melt solid metal into molten metal, a die 23 thatextends uprightly through the chamber 21 such that a portion thereof isinserted into the melting furnace 22 and another portion thereof isexposed outwardly of the melting furnace 22, a cooler 24 surrounding thedie 23, and a drawing unit 25 disposed above the cooler 24. The die 23is formed with a passage 231 that communicates with an inner portion ofthe melting furnace 22. When the molten metal passes through the passage231, the molten metal is solidified through the cooler 24 to become acasting that is then drawn upwardly by the drawing unit 25.

The aforementioned conventional horizontal and upcast continuous castingapparatuses 10, 20 are limited to particular sizes of products. Forexample, the conventional horizontal continuous casting apparatus 10 issuitable only for producing thick metal rods, so that when metal rods ofsmall diameters (below 12 mm) are to be produced, technical difficultiesare encountered by the conventional horizontal continuous castingapparatus 10. Similarly, the conventional upcast continuous castingapparatus 20 is generally not suitable for producing metal rods of largediameter (over 30 mm) because of technical difficulties that areencountered and the limited size of the apparatus 20.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide equipmentfor a continuous casting operation that is able to perform bothhorizontal and upcast casting.

According to this invention, equipment for a continuous castingoperation comprises a closed chamber having first and second connectingholes, a furnace unit disposed in the chamber for melting solid metalinto molten metal, a horizontal casting apparatus connected to the firstconnecting hole, a first drawing unit disposed downstream of thehorizontal casting apparatus, an upcast casting apparatus disposed abovethe chamber and connected to the second connecting hole, and a seconddrawing unit disposed downstream of the upcast casting apparatus. Thehorizontal casting apparatus includes at least one first die having afirst passage connected to the melting furnace to form a casting. Theupcast casting apparatus includes at least one second die having asecond passage connected to the melting furnace to form a casting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional horizontal continuous castingapparatus;

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional upcast continuous casting apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of equipment for a continuous castingoperation according to the first preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the first preferred embodiment in astate of use;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the first preferred embodiment,illustrating a first platform in a first position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but illustrating the first platformin a second position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of equipment for a continuous castingoperation according to the second preferred embodiment of this inventionin a state of use;

FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of the second preferred embodiment,illustrating a second platform in a third position;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8, but illustrating the second platformin a fourth position; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of equipment for a continuous castingoperation according to the third preferred embodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it shouldbe noted that the same reference numerals have been used to denote likeelements throughout the specification.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, equipment for a continuous casting operationaccording to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention isshown to comprise a closed chamber 3, a furnace unit 4, a horizontalcasting apparatus 5, an upcast casting apparatus 6, a first drawing unit7, a second drawing unit 8, and a first collecting unit 91.

The closed chamber 3 has a first connecting hole 31 and a secondconnecting hole 32.

The furnace unit 4 is disposed in the chamber 3, and has a receivinghole 41 at one side thereof. The furnace unit 4 serves to melt solidmetal into molten metal, and maintains the molten metal at a suitabletemperature. In this embodiment, the exemplified metal is copper, andthe suitable heating temperature ranges from 600° C. to 1500° C. To meltother kinds of metal, such as aluminum, nickel, copper alloys, aluminumalloys, nickel alloys, etc., the suitable heating temperature range maybe adjusted according to the physical properties of the metal used.

The horizontal casting apparatus 5 is connected to the first connectinghole 31, and includes a first die 51 and a first cooler 52. The firstdie 51 has one end positioned within the receiving hole 41 in thefurnace unit 4, and another end extending out of the chamber 3. Thefirst die 51 is formed with a first passage 511 connected to the furnaceunit 4. The molten copper in the furnace unit 4 is permitted to flow outof the chamber 3 through the first passage 511. The first cooler 52surrounds the first die 51, and cools the molten copper that flowsthrough the first passage 511, so that the molten copper is graduallysolidified into a copper casting.

The first drawing unit 7 is disposed outwardly of the chamber 3 inproximity to the first cooler 52 for drawing the copper casting from thefirst die 51 horizontally and continuously to form an elongated copperrod 500. The first drawing unit 7 has a pair of rollers 71 that rotateoppositely to clamp and pull out the copper material continuously andhorizontally.

The upcast casting apparatus 6 is disposed above the chamber 3, andincludes a second die 61 and a second cooler 62. The second die 61 isinserted uprightly into the furnace unit 4 by extending through thesecond connecting hole 32 in the chamber 3, and is formed with a secondpassage 611 connected to an inner portion of the furnace unit 4. Themolten copper in the furnace unit 4 is permitted to flow out of thechamber 3 through the second passage 611. The second cooler 62 surroundsthe second die 61, and cools the molten copper that flows through thesecond passage 611, so that the molten copper is gradually solidifiedinto a copper casting. The second cooler 62 has an inlet 621 for entryof a cooling liquid, and an outlet 622 for exit of the cooling liquidafter absorbing the heat of the molten copper. Preferably, the secondcooler 62 includes a cooling tower (not shown), and the cooling liquidmay be water. The water absorbs the heat of the molten copper and can becooled and continuously used.

The second drawing unit 8 is disposed above the second die 61 fordrawing the copper casting from the second die 61 upwardly andcontinuously so as to form an elongated copper rod 500′. In thisembodiment, the second drawing unit 8 includes four rollers 81 thatcooperate with each other to clamp and pull out the copper materialcontinuously.

The first collecting unit 91, as shown in FIG. 4, is disposed downstreamof the first drawing unit 7, and is used for collecting the elongatedcopper rods 500, 500′ drawn by the first and second drawing units 7, 8,respectively. The first collecting unit 91 includes a first platform913, a first coiler 912, and a first runout table 914. The firstplatform 913 supports the first runout table 914 and the first coiler912, and is movable relative to the chamber 3 between first and secondpositions. When the first platform 913 is in the first position, asshown in FIG. 5, the first coiler 912 is aligned with the first drawingunit 7. In this state, the copper rod 500 drawn by the first drawingunit 7 can be wound by the first coiler 912 into a coil. When the firstplatform 913 is in the second position, as shown in FIG. 6, the firstrunout table 914 is aligned with the first drawing unit 7 so as tocollect the copper rod 500 drawn by the first drawing unit 7 and to cutthe copper rod 500 to a preset length by using a cutter 400 (shown inphantom lines in FIG. 6).

The purpose of the cutter 400 and the first runout table 914 is toprovide another way of collecting the copper rod 500 after drawing. Thatis to say, instead of winding the copper rod 500 into a coil, the copperrod 500 can be cut into pieces on the first runout table 914.

If the first die 51 is to be changed into a die that can produce a metalslab or sheet, the first drawing unit 7 may be configured to draw themetal slab onto the first runout table 914 so as to facilitate a cuttingoperation. Hence, the equipment of the present invention can produce notonly an elongated metal rod, but also a metal slab.

Referring back to FIG. 4, when the first collecting unit 91 is used forcollecting the elongated copper rod 500′ drawn by the second drawingunit 8, a guide roller 300 and a winding speed controller 200 may beused to cooperate with the first collecting unit 91. The guide roller300 is disposed in proximity to the second drawing unit 8 to guide andchange the direction of the copper rod 500′. The winding speedcontroller 200 is mounted on the first platform 913 in proximity to thefirst coiler 912. The copper rod 500′ is directed downwardly by gravityafter passing over the guide roller 300, and is wound by the firstcoiler 912 into a coil. Alternatively, the copper rod 500′ may bedirected to the first runout table 914 to conduct a cutting operation.

It is worth mentioning that, in this embodiment, since both of theupcast casting apparatus 6 and the horizontal casting apparatus 5 aresupplied with molten copper from the same furnace unit 4 to produce theelongated metal rods 500′, 500, and since the first and second dies 51,61 have different forming sizes, different sizes or different forms ofmetal rods can be produced at the same time by the equipment of thepresent invention. Further, because it is not necessary to stop theoperation of the furnace unit 4 during switching between the upcast andhorizontal casting apparatuses 6, 5, different sizes of metal materialscan be produced continuously. Hence, the present invention not only canproduce different products in small quantities, but can also minimizethe danger caused by stopping and re-starting the apparatuses 6, 5.

The first collecting unit 91, in this embodiment, includes only onefirst coiler 912. However, when the first drawing unit 7 draws aplurality of metal rods 500 from the horizontal casting apparatus 5, orwhen the second drawing unit 8 draws a plurality of metal rods 500′ fromthe upcast casting apparatus 6, the first collecting unit 91 may beprovided with a plurality of the first coilers 912 to wind therespective metal rods 500, 500′ into coils. Since the structure andoperation of the first coiler 912 are known in the art, a detaileddescription of the same is dispensed herewith.

The equipment of the present invention integrates the conventionalhorizontal and upcast casting apparatuses into a single unit. Hence, notonly is the space occupied by the present invention minimized, but therelated operational costs, such as maintenance of the apparatuses 6, 5,can be economized as well.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, equipment for a continuous casting operationaccording to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention isshown to be similar to the first preferred embodiment. However, in thisembodiment, the equipment further comprises a second collecting unit 92disposed downstream of the second drawing unit 8 to collect theelongated metal rod 500′ drawn by the second drawing unit 8. The firstcollecting unit 91 is used to collect the elongated metal rod 500 drawnby the first drawing unit 7. The second collecting unit 92 has a secondplatform 923, a second coiler 922, and a second runout table 924. Thewinding speed controller 200 is mounted on the second platform 923 inproximity to the second coiler 922 in this embodiment. The secondplatform 923 supports the second runout table 924 and the second coiler922, and is movable relative to the upcast casting apparatus 6 betweenthird and fourth positions. When the second platform 923 is in the thirdposition, as shown in FIG. 8, the second coiler 922 is aligned with thesecond drawing unit 8 so as to wind the metal rod 500′ drawn by thesecond drawing unit 8 into a coil. When the second platform 923 is inthe fourth position, as shown in FIG. 9, the second runout table 924 isaligned with the second drawing unit 8 so as to collect the metal rod500′ drawn by the second drawing unit 8 and to cut the copper rod 500′to a preset length by using a cutter 400. With reference to FIG. 7, thedrawn metal rod 500′ is wound into a coil by the second coiler 922through cooperation of the guide roller 300 and the winding speedcontroller 200. Alternatively, the drawn metal rod 500′ may be collectedon the second runout table 924, as shown in FIG. 9, and may be cut to apreset length using the cutter 400 (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 9).

The second collecting unit 92, in this embodiment, includes only onesecond coiler 922. However, when the second drawing unit 8 draws aplurality of metal rods 500′ from the upcast casting apparatus 6, thesecond collecting unit 92 may be provided with a plurality of the secondcoilers 922 to wind the metal rods 500′ into coils, respectively. Sincethe upcast and horizontal casting apparatuses 6, 5 of the secondpreferred embodiment are provided respectively with the collecting units92, 91 and can be operated simultaneously, not only is the windingoperation effective, the production yield and the ability to varyproduct dimensions can be enhanced as well. Further, since the upcastcasting apparatus 6 is disposed higher than the horizontal castingapparatus 5, and since the second collecting unit 92 is also disposed ata level substantially as high as the upcast casting apparatus 6, thewinding operation of the second collecting unit 92 can be carried outeffectively.

Referring to FIG. 10, equipment for a continuous casting operationaccording to the third preferred embodiment of the present invention isshown to be similar to the second preferred embodiment. However, in thisembodiment, the horizontal casting apparatus 5 cooperates with the firstcollecting unit 7 to produce four elongated metal rods 500. Similarly,the upcast casting apparatus 6 can cooperate with the second collectingunit 8 to produce simultaneously four elongated metal rods 500′ (seeFIG. 7). Hence, the production yield is further increased. Since theupcast and horizontal casting apparatuses 6, 5 can separately andsimultaneously produce four elongated metal rods 500′, 500, each of thefirst and second collecting units 91, 92 (see FIG. 7) is provided withfour coilers 912, 922 (see FIG. 7) to cooperate with the correspondingcasting apparatus 6, 5 to wind the four metal rods 500′, 500 into coils,respectively.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the horizontal casting apparatus 5includes four first dies 51 (see FIG. 7) and four first coolers 52 (seeFIG. 7). The first collecting unit 7 is modified so as to accommodatedrawing of the four elongated metal rods 500. Similarly, the secondcollecting unit 8 is also modified so as to accommodate drawing of thefour elongated metal rods 500′. Since modification of each of the firstand second collecting units 7, 8 is known in the art, a detaileddescription of the same is dispensed herewith.

It should be noted that since the first and second collecting units 91,92 (see FIG. 7) in this embodiment are operated in a manner similar tothe manner in which they are operated in the second preferredembodiment, only the first collecting unit 91 is illustrated in FIG. 10.In FIG. 10, the first platform 913 is disposed in the second position.The aforementioned end product, i.e., the elongated metal rods 500,500′, is only an example to facilitate description of the presentinvention. The end product may be changed as required. If the endproduct is changed, the number and position of the first and seconddrawing units 7, 8 and of the first and second collecting units 912, 922may be altered accordingly, and the present invention is not limited inthis regard to the disclosed embodiments.

While the present invention has been described in connection with whatare considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations andequivalent arrangements.

1. Equipment for a continuous casting operation, comprising: a closedchamber having first and second connecting holes; a furnace unitdisposed in said chamber for melting solid metal into molten metal; ahorizontal casting apparatus connected to said first connecting hole,and including at least one first die having a first passage connected tosaid melting furnace to form a casting; a first drawing unit disposeddownstream of said horizontal casting apparatus; an upcast castingapparatus disposed above said chamber and connected to said secondconnecting hole, and including at least one second die having a secondpassage connected to with said melting furnace to form a casting; and asecond drawing unit disposed downstream of said upcast castingapparatus.
 2. The equipment of claim 1, further comprising a firstcollecting unit disposed downstream of said first drawing unit tocollect the casting either from said first die or from said second die.3. The equipment of claim 2, wherein said first collecting unit includesa first platform, and at least one first coiler and at least one firstrunout table supported by said first platform.
 4. The equipment of claim3, wherein said first platform is movable relative to said chamberbetween a first position, where said first coiler is aligned with saidfirst drawing unit, and a second position, where said first runout tableis aligned with said first drawing unit.
 5. The equipment of claim 1,further comprising a first collecting unit disposed downstream of saidfirst drawing unit to collect the casting from said first die, and asecond collecting unit disposed downstream of said second drawing unitto collect the casting from said second die.
 6. The equipment of claim5, wherein said first collecting unit includes a first platform, and atleast one first coiler and at least one first runout table supported bysaid first platform, said second collecting unit including a secondplatform, and at least one second coiler and at least one second runouttable supported by said second platform.
 7. The equipment of claim 6,wherein said first platform is movable relative to said horizontalcasting apparatus between a first position, where said first coiler isaligned with said first drawing unit, and a second position, where saidfirst runout table is aligned with said first drawing unit, said secondplatform being movable relative to said upcast casting apparatus betweena third position, where said second coiler is aligned with said seconddrawing unit, and a fourth position, where said second runout table isaligned with said second drawing unit.